|
|
Post by Geoff on Aug 22, 2014 8:04:22 GMT
I am going to see if i can scrounge an old lappy and install Linux.
|
|
|
|
Post by duyuthinkysaurus on Sept 25, 2014 13:40:19 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Ratae on Sept 25, 2014 14:50:26 GMT
"There don't appear to be any exploits related to this bug in the wild yet, but the flaw offers an opportunity for miscreants to attack OS X and desktop Linux, not to mention countless server builds. If Apple, Ubuntu, Mint, Debian or other Linux developers release operating-system updates this week, be sure to install them."
I'm on it! Although to be honest, I rarely use the command line option 'cos most stuff is already in the repositories. I have used it, it's a bit nerdy 'cos when it runs, the command window looks like the screen from a mission control puter at Houston.....a bit scary! But...I'll check for updates on that old lappy that I put Mint 17 on. My netbook doesn't get updates 'cos the distro is no longer supported, I'll leave that one alone! From what I read, no-one has written this bug, it's just a flaw in the shell that COULD be exploited! 
|
|
mr
Full Member
Posts: 100 
|
Post by mr on Sept 25, 2014 19:58:34 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Ratae on Sept 25, 2014 20:22:14 GMT
Errrr yes mr...I absolutely understand every word of this............. Innit!  |
|
mr
Full Member
Posts: 100
|
Post by mr on Sept 26, 2014 0:48:08 GMT
With Linux I find that understanding everything, ie open the bonnet and start taking the car to pieces to see how it works, isn't really needed, unless it's something you want to do. The security alert was about bash, which can be used in Linux systems, but isn't usually set as the default way of doing things. Frankly, I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway, but by reading the dedicated forums on Mint, I've read that one can do the update in case it is in use on my system. Done that now and it's set my mind at rest especially as from previous topics covered on that forum I know that my system is pretty impenetrable to casual hackers and that my modems ports are all closed by default because it is Linux. That's enough for me.  |
|
|
|
Post by Ratae on Sept 26, 2014 13:05:33 GMT
Hmmmmm...I was reading something online from 'The Times of India' ... where I believe Linux is taught in schools, and is the 'go to' operating system. They too had the headline 'Bug found in etc etc'...but when you begin to read the article, it calls it a 'Vulnerability which could blah blah'Perhaps I'm being a bit picky over this, but to me, a 'bug' implies some nasty that has deliberately been slipped into the system, whereas a 'vulnerability' suggests that it's a flaw that could possibly allow that bug to be slipped into the system! |
|
mr
Full Member
Posts: 100
|
Post by mr on Sept 26, 2014 22:00:56 GMT
Because of the way we all use Linux, we all operate as limited users with the option of entering as admins occasionally to alter some system settings, usually in Mint by issuing the command 'sudo' and providing the password. This prevents an outsider from installing a bug on our systems. In Windows, traditionally everyone acts as a full time admin and their systems are open to attack from outside sources, viruses and malware even if they have firewalls coming out of their ears and anti this and that running. That's the difference. Have a look here,http://www.ehow.com/how_5118085_check-open-ports-computer.html Also www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?rh1dkyd2 and run the check. Also read: 6) Security here techluminati.com/operating-systems/linux-vs-windows/ (about a third of the way down). |
|
|
|
Post by Ratae on Sept 27, 2014 10:52:34 GMT
It is preaching to the converted as far as I'm concerned. Before I ever put Linux on one of my machines, I quite naturally went online to check out all of the pros and cons. Jazus...even when I want to run the update manager on my Netbook, I need to provide my password. I'm not sure, but I read somewhere that even my Mint 14 which is no longer supported, has been patched. Apparently 13,15 and 17 have. |
|
mr
Full Member
Posts: 100
|
Post by mr on Sept 27, 2014 16:28:06 GMT
Was trying to help but got carried away! Sorry.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ratae on Sept 27, 2014 16:38:11 GMT
Was trying to help but got carried away! Sorry. No apologies necessary at all, as you say, "trying to help" .....and I'm not the only one that reads these threads.  I was just making the point, that I too have been singing the praises of Linux on these forums, another voice most certainly helps!  |
|
|
|
Post by Ratae on Oct 2, 2014 14:34:59 GMT
 Well actually, I'll do no such thing 'cos I've changed my mind, and this one works much better (My new mind I mean)  So....on the basis of 'better safe than sorry'..I set about upgrading this netbook from Mint 14 to the Mint 17 (Mate) LTS edition. I did this the usual way, by doing a 'Fresh' install using the method I've described previously, and using the Linux 'Backup Tool' It ran okayish, but those instructions that I followed from the web, although accurate enough, are not really comprehensive enough, they are deffo not an 'Idiots Guide'....they assume too much! I finally managed to get that 'File Backup' bit sorted, on around the fourth attempt, but even then I did summat wrong, 'cos when I came to reinstall them, they were all in the new Mint 17 music folder for some reason. Anyway...I was soon up and running. I'm really chuffed now that I did this, this new version seems miles faster than the old one, possibly it's the updates to FF which has made the difference, which is actually the main reason for my decision to upgrade. Another bonus, is with all of the tweaking and messing I've done just to get it looking how I like it, I've stumbled on a couple of things that I wasn't aware of. One of which, is the ability to change completely the colour or texture of the file manager 'Caja' backgrounds. I now have mine a sort of 'worktop cracked ice blue' thingy. Yep...still one or two little tweaks required, but we are well and truly cooking on gas at the moment.   This is my new desktop.  This is my 'Home Folder'  This is the Mint softwear manager. There's around 45,000 programs to choose from.
|
|
mr
Full Member
Posts: 100
|
Post by mr on Oct 2, 2014 19:08:22 GMT
Very nice! You might want to look at Sugarplumb which is in the repos. It lloks a fun sort of thing to try as it poisons spam and causes the spammers to destroy their databases - and it works automatically in the background.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ratae on Oct 2, 2014 20:42:57 GMT
Very nice! You might want to look at Sugarplumb which is in the repos. It lloks a fun sort of thing to try as it poisons spam and causes the spammers to destroy their databases - and it works automatically in the background. Hmmmm....that sounds like fun mr...I'll take a look at that when I get a mo! |
|
mr
Full Member
Posts: 100
|
Post by mr on Oct 3, 2014 20:04:17 GMT
That's as far as I understand it anyway, but very few people seem to know much about it. Kinda like scam baiting the Nigerian fraudsters, but automatically in the background. www.tucows.com/preview/8696/Sugarplum Sugarplum is an automated Spam-poisoner. Its purpose is to feed realistic and enticing but totally useless data to wandering spam-bots like Email Siphon and Cherry Picker. The idea behind Sugarplum is to contaminate a Spammer's database so that he or she will be forced to discard the Spam, or at least discard all of the data retrieved from your site. Good description here: epc.buffalo.edu/authors/hennessey/data/essays/sugarplum.htm |
|
Illegitimi non carborundum
